Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. CMOS is the semiconductor technology that is currently used for manufacturing processors and memory. Most personal computer and consumer electronics chips are some variant of CMOS.

Dual-inline package. An integrated circuit with two rows of external connecting terminals or pins, which are inserted into the holes of the printed circuit board. DIPs are well-suited for automated assembly into printed circuit boards.

Dual-inline package. An integrated circuit with two rows of external connecting terminals or pins, which are inserted into the holes of the printed circuit board. DIPs are well-suited for automated assembly into printed circuit boards.

An integrated circuit with two rows of external connecting terminals or pins, which are inserted into the holes of the printed circuit board. DIPs are well-suited for automated assembly into printed circuit boards.

A basic electronic element usually packaged in a discrete form with two or more connecting leads or metallic pads. Components are intended to be connected together, usually by soldering to a printed circuit board, to create an electronic circuit with a particular function.

Current produced by two objects having a static charge when they are brought close enough together to produce an arc or discharge, as static electricity. Electrostatic discharge can cause simple skin irritation for a person or destroy a semiconductor electronic device.

A coating on a PC board, usually dark green or dark blue, that is designed to insulate and protect the copper traces and keep them from shorting together. The mask is "masked out" to form solder pads to allow for soldering separate component leads.

A layered construction of material used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, or traces, etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive surface.

A method for constructing electronic circuits in which the components are mounted directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards (PCBs). Devices assembled this way are called surface-mount devices (SMDs).